With the All-Star break complete, the NBA season has officially entered its defining stretch, where experimentation gives way to urgency and every game carries postseason implications. The trade deadline is past, rotations are largely set, and teams must navigate the final push with the rosters they have, making health and availability immediate priorities rather than long-term considerations. Injuries are no longer abstract management decisions but real-time variables that can shape seeding, momentum, and playoff viability. At this point, durability and depth carry as much weight as star power, and as the standings tighten, availability, not just talent, continues to separate true contenders from teams already recalibrating for what’s next.
Ja Morant - Memphis Grizzlies
Morant is expected to be sidelined for at least another two weeks while recovering from a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, an injury he sustained on Jan. 21. The Grizzlies said Wednesday that the two-time All-Star is making progress in his rehab but is still experiencing discomfort. The team added that he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Steph Curry - Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry has already missed five games with a right knee injury and will be re-evaluated in 10 days due to ongoing patellofemoral pain syndrome, meaning he’s likely to miss at least five more games coming out of the All-Star break, the Warriors announced Thursday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Oklahoma City Thunder
Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined with an abdominal strain for the last two weeks. The Thunder announced that he will be reevaluated in about a week from Friday.
Kyrie Irving - Dallas Mavericks
While rehabbing a torn ACL sustained last season, there was hope he would be able to return for a playoff push this season. Kyrie Irving has now decided it would be in his best interest to sit out the entirety of this season and will focus on coming back 100% next season.
Devin Booker - Phoenix Suns
Left the Suns game on Thursday due to a sore hip. He tried to play through the injury but ultimately did not return after playing in only 9 minutes. "[He] tried to go back out there," Suns Head Coach Jordan Ott said. "[Had to] save him from himself. [He] wasn't moving great when he came back in."
Domantas Sabonis - Sacramento Kings
Sabonis underwent season-ending knee surgery Wednesday to repair a torn left meniscus. He adds to the list of injuries plauging the Kings as the final stretch of the season begins on Thursday.
Zach LaVine - Sacramento Kings
LaVine will undergo season-ending surgery on his right hand after the All-Star break. The veteran swingman will finish the 2025-26 season with averages of 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from downtown across 31.4 minutes per contest in 39 regular-season games.
Ivica Zubac - Indiana Pacers
Zubac was traded from Los Angeles to Indiana on Feb. 5 but has yet to make his Pacers debut due to a left ankle sprain. Head coach Rick Carlisle said that Zubac was a limited participant in Tuesday's practice and that it's going to be "a while" until he returns to game action. It appears likely that the 15-40 Pacers will give the big man ample time to ramp up, as they aren't expected to make a postseason push
Damian Lillard - Portland Trail Blazers
Despite being in recovery from an Achilles rupture, Lillard defeated Devin Booker and Kon Knueppel in the final round of Saturday's 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest, taking home his third title. Lillard is still recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon he sustained with the Bucks in the opening round of the playoffs last season, and he'll aim to return to action for Portland by the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
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